Method and apparatus for heating buildings



April 28, 1931- A. FESSENDEN 1,802,970

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING BUILDINGS Filed June 17, 1921 EA D/A TUE TAN/f Patented Apr. 28, 1931 UNITE P ATE N FFIE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING BUILDINGS Application filed. June 17,

My invention relates to the heating of buildings and the like, and has for its object increased eficiency and convenience, more es pecially during short spells of cold weather occurring during the fall and spring months when it is not desired to start up the main heating plant.

The figure shows, partly diagrammatically, means adapted for carrying out my invention.

Heretofore in the practice of the art it has been customary to start up the hot water or steam heating plant on Nov. 1st and shut it down May 1st. But before Nov. 1st and after May 1st there are many days of cold weather, and even in summer a series of chilly damp days may make heating desirable, to avoid damage to wall paper, ceilings, etc. Starting up the main heating plant is not only inconvenient, necessitating calling in the furnace man, arranging for removal of ashes, etc, but also expensive, as considerable fuel must be used in starting up, and is wasted because after the emergency has passed the fire box is still filled with fuel which has to burn out, making the building uncomfortably hot. Gas grates or electric heaters may be used, or coal or wood in grates, but grates are very inefiicient, electricity is expensive, and wood or coal necessitates the removal of ashes and labour in laying the fires.

I have invented and tested a new form of heating system which combines the advan tages and eliminates the disadvantages of the above systems. In this new and improved system the main heating plant is run during the period Nov. 1st to May 1st and on the occurrence of a cold or damp spell at other times, the heating system is automatically filled with hot water of any desired temperature by merely turning the handle of a valve. The convenience, economy and comfort of the new system will be obvious.

' In the figure, 11 is the furnace of the main heating plant, here shown as a hot water system. 14 is a radiator, 12, 12 being the ascending feed pipe, and 13, 13 the descending pipe; 21 is the expansion tank, 23 its overflow to the drain pipe 24 and drain 25. 19 is a one way valve and 30, 32 are two-way valves, the 50 direction of flow being shown by the arrows 1921. Serial No. 478,315.

marked on them. The long handles-of the valves 30, 32, i. e. 33, 34, are fastened to each other by the flexible wire cable, 35, 35, passing round the pulley 36, and attached at its lower endto the weight 37,so that the handles of the valves 30, 32 are normally held in the position shown by the full lines. 22, 31 are the pipe connections from the overflow tank to the hot water system.

15 is an automatic hot water heater of the standard type, 16 being the automatic valve and 17 the connection to the city water mains and 18 the connection to the gas mains. i Vhen the valve 19 is opened, to let water into a bath or sink, the flow of water through 17 causes the automatic valve to operate and turn on the gas in the heater and after a few moments hot water flows from the tap. lVhen the valve 19 is closed, the gas is automatically turned off by the automatic valve.

28 is a pipe connection between 20 and the valve 30; and 29 a pipe connection between 12 and the valve 30. 38 is a thermometer placed in the pipe 13 to indicate the temperature of the water in said pipe.

The operation is as follows. Assume it to be a cold and damp day and the furnace 11 tobe out, and that it is desired to warm the house. All that is necessary is to turn the handle 33 to the position shown by the dotted line 26. This operation, since 33 is attached to 34, will also turn 34 to the position shown by the dotted line 27. In these new positions the valve 30 will connect the radiator 14 to the automatic hot water heater 15, and the valve 32 will cut ofi the radiator 14 from the expansion tank 21 and connect it to the drain 25. Valves of this type, commonly known as three way valves have been long known in the art and are shown in catalogues of pipe fittings. See for example Eimer and Amend catalogue, 1910, articles 4547, 4750, 4753. The automatic Valve 16 will therefore be set in operation and hot water will flow from 15 into the radiator 14, until the handle 33 is released and the weight 37 automatically carries it over to its former position. This is done when the thermometer 38 shows that the water in the radiator is suiiiciently hot tofurnish the amount of heating desired in the room or building.

Tests made on this system in the fall of 1919 show that it is very eflicient. With gas at $1.35 per thousand and a 12 room house with 171 radiator sections the total cost of heating the house to F. on a cold damp day was 81 cents, the outside temperature being 33 F. The efliciency of the heating was approximately 70%, which was higher than had been considered possible heretofore, and was due partly to the use of copper pipes in the heater and the use of lagged pipes, i. e. well insulated.

But even under much poorer conditions the efliciency reached 60%.

A similar test on a similar day, using the main furnace, and under as favourable conditions as possible and with same house and radiators gave a cost for coal of $2.00, exclusive of cost of furnace man to build fire, and exclusive of cost of removing ashes. This higher cost for coal was due to the coal used in starting up, and the coal left in the furnace to burn out after the cold spell had stopped; also partly to the fact that the whole furnace and the contained cold water had to be heated in addition to that in the radiators. With a long run of cold weather the relative costs would have been reversed. But for such conditions as arise in practice there is great economy, convenience and comfort in using this new system, and the lighting of the main furnace may be delayed several weeks in the fall and put ahead several weeks in the spring,

- thus saving about a months coal.

It will be noted that when the handles 33, 34: are thrown into the positions shown by the dotted lines 26, 27, the hot water in the body of the heater 11 is simultaneously maintained free to expand, through the pipes 13, 31, thus preventing explosion from expansion in case the water in 11 is heated while the handles are in the positions 26, 27.

It will also he noted that this method of operating the radiator, by simultaneously withdrawing cold water from one end and introducing an equal amount of hot Water at the other end, and then checking the flow of water and allowing the radiator to radiate the heat of the hot water so introduced is different from the usual way of circulating the water while gradually raising its temperature, and raises the temperature of the room much more quickly, and is more con-' venient and uses less fuel.

, By automatic auxiliary heater is meant one which is put into operation by the action of connecting the radiator to the said auxiliary water into the space so left vacant in said radiator, and interrupting the said introduction of said hot water into said radiator before the total volume of said introduction is substantially in excess of the volume of said radiator; and then radiating the heat of the limited volume of hot Water so introduced.

2. Apparatus for heating buildings comprising a main heater adapted to heat and circulate a heating fluid; a radiator normally arranged in operative relation to said main h ater; an automatic hot water heater; a discharge pipe, means for operatively disconnecting said radiator from said main heater; and means for intermittently connecting 0pposite ends of said radiator to said automatic hot water heater and to said discharge pipe respectively; whereby said radiator may be intermittently filled with hot water inclependently of said main heater.

3. Apparatus for heating buildings comprising a main heater adapted to heat and circulate a heating fluid; an expansion tank normally operatively connected to said main heater; a radiator normally connected in operative relation to said main heater; means for operatively disconnecting said radiator from said main heater; an automatic hot water heater; means for intermittently connecting opposite ends of said radiator to said automatic hot water heater and to a discharge pipe respectively; together with means for disconnecting said expansion tank of said main heater from said radiator simultaneously with the connection of said rad-iator to said automatic hot Water heater; whereby said radiator may be efficiently and intermittently filled with hot water independently of said main heater.

l. Apparatus as in claim 2 with means for connecting said radiators to the said discharge pipe, simultaneously with the connection of the said radiator to the said automatic hot water heater.

5. Apparatus as in claim 2 with automatic means for returning the said connecting means to their normal and original position after each said intermittent connection.

6. In a heating system comprising a heating circuit, a main heater adapted to circulate a heating fluid in said circuit, and a radiator in said circuit; the combination of an independent source of hot water under pressure, and means for opening said circuit at one side of said radiator and connecting said source to said circuit at the other side of said radiator, whereby the latter may be filled with hot water independently of said main heater.

REGINALD A. FESSENDEN. 

